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My first morning practice (2024-09-16)

My morning practice begins with deep breathing. I direct slow inhalations and exhalations with a sense of filling and expanding the body. The release of slow exhalations in turn relaxes and stills the mind and body.

I imagine that I'm breathing through my nose and lungs and my entire body—full-body breathing. That deceptively simple practice helps me slowly awaken and enter the present moment as I charge up my body with vital oxygen and energy. And when I say energy - I really do mean energy.

Let's take a brief scientific detour.

One estimate suggests we inhale approximately 11 sextillion oxygen molecules with a single deep breath. That's a massive number - 11,300 followed by 18 zeros: 11,300,000,000,000,000,000,000. Each of those oxygen molecules consists of two oxygen atoms that, in turn, consist of protons, electrons, and neutrons - there's a whole lot of energy in a single oxygen molecule. We use those oxygen molecules for metabolic processes, which ultimately result in the energy produced within the trillions of cells that make up our bodies. We can think of deep breathing as taking our nourishing Vitamin O!

So, outside of the energetic benefits, this practice allows me to enter the day by directing my breath before engaging in more involved movement.

This morning practice can be done lying down, seated, or standing. I prefer lying down as it easily expands my lungs and requires less effort. It allows my body to focus on receiving the breaths without trying to hold posture.

I prefer to do this by getting out of bed and lying down on the floor (on a yoga mat) as that reduces the tendency of falling back asleep.

Lying down and deeply and fully breathing also allows me to engage in a conversation with my body. It's an opportunity to sense and feel—to check in on how I'm feeling and discover where I'm feeling stiffness, tension, or discomfort. This information exchange will direct my intention and the flow of the exercises I'll focus on later.

As I lie down and breathe, I can feel the earth beneath me hold my body in a gentle embrace. As I slowly inhale, I lift and float away from the embrace, and as I exhale, I release back into it.

I find that deep breathing gently stretches and massages my mind, body, and flow of energy.

This practice establishes my relationship with the earth's gravitational pull. As I continue my morning practice, my movements will exert a greater force of energy against and with the earth's gravitational pull. I Imagine this less as a battle and more as the invisible force present between two dancers as they move in unison.

For way too many years, I gravitated to a cup of coffee as my fastest path to entering the present moment. And if I'm being honest, I still, but rarely, have such days. Today, I find this morning practice a less jarring entry point into the day, one that prepares my mind and body for the work that lies ahead.

Muti-camera view (2024-08-31)

I recently upgraded the video setup in my home Qi Gong studio. I've been wanting to add two additional cameras in order to make movements easier to following on video.

Two views are quite important, a side view and an overhead angled view. Those views allows students to better gauge the position and distance of hands, arms and legs. I'll use this new setup on my Zoom classes and future videos.

Roller skating and Qi Gong (2024-08-23)

Earlier this year, my wife Karla and I took up roller skating. What attracted me to learning how to roller skate was that many of the elements of a Qi Gong practice apply to roller skating. Specifically, a sense of balance and flow where stretching and body strength play vital roles. Additionally, the spiraling body movements in Qi Gong result in a natural fluidity in one's skating style.

In short, skating supports a Qi Qong practice, and a Qi Qong practice supports activities such as roller skating. This applies to martial arts, dance, gymnastics, and more.

Advanced teacher training (2024-08-15)

I spent a week in Santa Cruz California in the final training session for my Holden Qi Gong Tier-2 Advanced Teacher Certification. Our class of 2024 included 30 students from around the world. Each morning we practiced Qi Gong on the beach.

We also received instructional guidence from internationally recognized Qi Gong Master, Lee Holden. Additionally, our group of teachers broke up into small groups and taught one another. This was a good opportunity to see how other instructors taught the same movements.

World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day (2022-04-30)

On April 30th we celebrated World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day. The following video was shot at Granite Park in Sandy Utah and is dedicated to the loving memory of Master Cheng Tsang Lu (1949-2022). Special thanks to Scott White and Toni Lock for organizing and leading the opening classes!

Qi Gong at Survivor Wellness (2022-04-08)

I recently joined the Wellness Team of providers at Survivor Wellness. Survivor Wellness is an organization dedicated to improving the wellbeing and quality of life for Cancer Survivors, their families and caregivers.

Today I taught my first class at Survivor Wellness, and it was my sincere honor to do so. Unfortunately, my family has loss several loved ones to Cancer. So I'm blessed to have this opportunity to offer the gift of Qi Gong as a recognized practice for energy and strength cultivation and its documented healing potential. While I'm not a doctor and can't offer medical advice, I try to inform myself regarding the potential of preventive and self-healing practices. I recently encountered this short movie entitled: Cultivating life energy, Qi Gong in Cancer Care.

Qi Gong with 23 tiny tots! (2022-04-01)

Today I lead a class for 23 tiny tots! We mimicked animal movements and sounds. A friend spoke with Miss Margenes, who owns and runs a creative dance studio concerning the possibility of having me do a demo class. Preparing to teach that class offered an excellent opportunity for me to create a class geared toward very young children. The kids had a lot of fun and I'm grateful to Miss Margenes for the opportunity!

Qi Gong for kids zoom class (2022-03-26)

Today I held my first kids and parents Qi Gong class. The class was a lot of fun to do. However, the class was perhaps 5 minutes longer than would have been ideal for young people with really short attention spans. I've learned since, that the amount of activity time should be the average age of the kids times two. So for 6 year-olds that would be a 12 minute class. Note to self!

My second class at Mindful Living (2022-03-12)

I started teaching at the the Mindful Living Wellness Center on Saturday March 3rd. The center holds a special place in my heart because it's the first wellness center I joined when my wife and I moved to Utah back in 2019. During, the center's grand opening, on Saturday February 22nd, my wife and I purchased a founding membership on day 1 and we've been members ever since. This was my second class at the Mindful Living Wellness Center.